Why You Should Segment BEFORE Integration

In his highly popular book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” author Steven Covey writes that you must begin with the end in mind in order to be successful. The same is true for integration.

In this comprehensive paper, 4Thought Marketing explains why it’s so important to establish your segmentation end-goals prior to integrating your marketing automation software and CRM software as well as what kind of steps you need to take in order to “predict the future” and segment beyond your current abilities, system, and data structure.

For example, ask simple questions such as…

What company groups do I eventually want to reach?

Who do I want to reach at those companies?

Why do I want to reach them?

What are their personas?

You can effectively figure out what fields and data sets you’re going to need in the future.

We’ll also discuss how to strategize for future segmentation based on behavior. For example – what do you do when implementing social in the future and your consumers begin mentioning your company on Twitter, navigate to your site via Facebook, or share your messages?

If you’re considering integration, it’s vital that you integrate with the end in mind and ensure that your integration serves you over the long-term in order to clearly accomplish the marketing goals that you and your team require now and in the future.